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Spurs to rival Arsenal for top Belgium striker

Arsenal’s North London rivals Tottenham Hotspur are planning a sneaky January bid for Marseille striker Michy Batshuayi according to the Daily Mail.

Spurs boss Mauricio Pochettino is looking to bring in another striker to help take some of the burden off England international Harry Kane, while also covering his bases should the clubs main goal scorer suffer an injury.

Tottenham had scouts on hand last week to watch the £15 million-rated striker play against Rennes, with a White Hart Lane insider telling the Daily Mail that the club will test Marseille with a bid for the 22-year-old once the winter transfer window opens in just under three weeks’ time.

Not to be undone, Arsenal also sent their Ligue 1 expert scout Gilles Grimandi to watch the Belgium international play during Marseille 0-1 away win and could now get involved in a bidding war with their neighbours to bring Batshuayi to the Premiership.

Realistically Batshuayi is the type of player Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger likes, given his young age and the fact he is a part of the golden generation of Belgium footballers that the world expects to see dominate the game for some time to come.

According to Calciomercato, the Gunners boss has been following the youngster since the start of the season after being bewitched by his powerful style that should see him adapt well to the English game.

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Two problems now stand him in the way of him moving to the Emirates, the first being Tottenham, who even though they really want to sign West Brom striker Saido Berahino, may be forced to look elsewhere after Tottenham Chairman Daniel Levy upset his West Brom counterpart Jeremy Pearce in their pursuit of the England forward last summer. As things stand at the moment West Brom may be forced to sell the 22-year-old, but if Pearce has his way it will never be to Tottenham.

The second obstacle is that Marseille president Vincent Labrune says he will not listen to offers below £35 million.

“There is not a single top 15 world club that is not interested in Batshuayi,” Labrune told Belgium newspaper La Derniere Heure.

“He is one of the most wanted players on the market. There were a lot of offers for him this summer, but he did not want to leave. “He is proving himself on the pitch. And if clubs want him then they are going to have to pay up. Around €50m!”